Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-04-16
LETTER FROM JAPAN.
WANDERINGS OF A CALIFORNIAN
IN THE ORIENT.
Festivals Of the Japanese
Surrounding of Trip.
KOBE Japan, February %, 1887.

is thirty hours. / shall not write of Kobe
to- day, but will tell of some pleasant fes-
rivals have just taken part in in northern
Japan.
Utsunomiya is small city, of about 49,.
eco inhabitants, at the end of the railroad
from Yokio. 1t played quite part in the
war in 1865, at the time of the restoration !;
and the old cas.ie of the Daimio has been
destroyed, but the place remains quite
business center for shipment of rice and
the copper from the mines of Ashiwo.
My room at the Shirokiya Hotel was
well placed for a view of the main street
and the square opposite the depot. The
sides had large panes of glass inserted in
the whole length, and each morning and
evening very interested crowd of country
people, who had come down to wonder at
the steam cars, found quite a pastime in
watching me dress or undress. There were
no curtains, and no possibility of obtaining
any, but grew quite used to this public
life, and felt quite proud of the admiring
comments which my home-knitted red
underwear always called forth. Japan
gave me so much in the way of interest
that did not grudge the little was able
to do to entertain the people in return. On
the evening of March 9Th my worthy host
came to me and informed me that it was
THE mari FESTIVAL,
And if | would like to go with him ne
would be honored, etc, TO show me the
sights. l had already become aware of the
excitement in town, among the children
especially, who were buying drums and
81 a., ,t, H.
street. Inari is the name given to the god
of rice, and there are at least five persona
fications of food goods bearing the name
The thousands of little temples seen every
where in Japan, and called by foreigners
'' fox temples" are built to Inarisama, who
manitests himself often in the form of a
fox, playing fantastic tricks upon human
ity All day long people had been putting
up before their houses or the fox temples
in their grounds long banners of blue, vel
low, red and white, bearing inscriptions !;
there was also as much floral decoration as
the season would allow. The sun had
scarcely set when l heard the rattle of a
drum, then a second, and yet more, till one
prolonged, deafening rattle, as if that which
rolls around the world each day were
merged into one long beat. The road to
each shrine is marked by rows of lanterns
bearing comic pictures representing the
effect upon men produced by some of Mas
ter Fox's witcheries. One showed man
in the act of shaving another, and making
use of mallet to drive the razor through
the stubby hair; some bore pictures of
men evidently fallen down under the in
fluence of sake, but fox peeping from be-
hind tree told where the whole blame is
to be laid when anxious wife and svmpa-
thetic neighbors find him. All of these
transparencies are amusing, but quite I'M
necessary to tell the way to the shrines to
any but deaf people, for upon high stage
hidden from view by draperies of red, blue,
yellow and white are dozen or more
boys. A dozen boys in such a place.
even if it were at a funeral, would
make noise enough, but on this occa-
sion armed with drums, bells, flies
and other ear torturers, they can be heard
for half mile. The large business houses
which have one of these little temples IN
their Enclosures give public reception of
which the whole town avaiis itself to see
the usually novel decorations. Neatly de-
signed and expensive tableaux of CLAW
figures are given, the hands and faces of
which are remarkably well executed One
was a beautiful representation of the
famous story of THE Old Man who made
Withered Fruit Trees Bloem," and being
L
a real tree. A second tableau, in the rear
of large beer establishment, was of Full
yama, which lowered quite naturally with
snow-covered peak, while in the fore
ground was woman, a boy and man,
the latter working in his rice field, and the
woman telling the boy the
STORY OF THE SACRED MOUNTAIN,
Which briefly is as follows: A very
n hn al,
moon was loved by the Mikado but when
he was about to take her as one of his fam
lily, she was carried away to the moon
again in chariot. She left as gift to the
Mikado an elixir of life. but, like a true
lover, he refused to accept eternal life
without his moon girl, and burnt the elixir
upon the summit of this mountain, and
named it the Immortal Mountain-Fugi
no Yama.
Another is story where the wicked fox
plays prominent part. A peasant, seeing
one of these sly creatures, follows it from
the track into dense wood, when it sud
denly disappears and two lovely women
are seen playing game of checkers. Quite
forgetful of the time, the peasant watches
the game to the end when he turns to go
away, but, much to his wonder, finds him
self an old, white-haiTed man. A hundred
years at least have passed, and he can find
none Of his friends when he reaches his
native village, and so goes away and is
never seen again. | once forgot my dinner
for half an hour watching certain Young
ladies play lawn-tennis, but never have
seen game of any kind that could keep
me for half a hundred years.
Lanterns were hanging from all points
and often strung in pretty designs, while
larger and brighter above all shown the
rnn frrll h,r+
reveal part of the mans face looking
down full of appreciative jollity upon the
festival. 1t is essentially children's cele-
bration, and they turn out in full force on
these occasions, chatting way like little
parrots. There seems to he no quarreling.
and only such jostling as is unavoidable in
crowd moved by curiosity. This general
politeneSs and Difference to each other. in
public as well as private, is characteristic
of these people. The common beggars
bow to each other, and even jinriksha men
offer greetings in most courteous manner.
A japanese dress is an assurance of polite
treatment; you may be robbed by these
people in shop and restaurant, but the
crime is done in the gentlest way possible
During my walk, however, | was treated
with impertinence and unkindness-not by
cartmen or the low Doors from the coun-
try, but by boys from the school here,
where they affect European costume and
hoodlumish manners. The annoyance was
small. and from petty source, but it
served to show
WHERE NEW JAPAN Is DRIFTING
When foreigner learns to look for inciv-
ility from the children of the upper classes
who are to be the men of the future The
1narisama festival lasts for two days, and
all the little shrines receive some attention
in the way of green branches and gay
colored s.reamers. There is sort of as
surance company connected with temple
of this kind which l know of in Kobe.
Any worshiper, by paying certain small
sum at regular intervals, is given funeral
(when such an event is finally necessary.
good Or extra fine. according to the amount
OF his payment. Often the funeral does
not take place for year after the decease
of the policy holder" bat he is sure to
have one worth seeing when it does occur.
The interest in this festival is diving out.
they say; everything that is worth living
seems to be now dying out in this country,
and a miserable, mongrel mixture of man-
nerS dress and all the faults of our civil
ization. without the few virtues, are taking
the places
On our way home we passed several wan
dering amma-the blind shampooers-on
of whom was being followed by some of
these schoolboys, knocking his peculiar
whistle and having their sport with his
helplessness in a way that would shock